


Testing a Hypothesis

by tsukinofaerii



Category: Marvel 1610 - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-15
Updated: 2010-04-15
Packaged: 2017-10-08 23:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/80503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukinofaerii/pseuds/tsukinofaerii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Tony noted Steve's sensitivity was, predictably, one when he was preoccupied.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Testing a Hypothesis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valtyr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valtyr/gifts).



The first time Tony noted Steve's sensitivity was, predictably, one when he was preoccupied. People to seduce, worlds to save, quite the usual set of events, really. Discovering how Steve had been able to discern the difference between copper and steel in a pitch-black containment cell had been far from his first concern. After they'd freed themselves and subsequently exploded the base, it had been nearly forgotten.

The next time had been far more notable, and in less harried circumstances. At a meeting, he'd dared a casual ruffle of Steve's cowl-mussed blonde hair as he passed by. Tony had been the only one to note the Captain leaning into his touch. Before he'd been able to conduct further tests, Fury had demanded an explanation for the latest in villainous schemes and why, precisely, New York had been briefly turned into a marshmallow wonderland. As far as Tony was concerned, they'd been lucky that it hadn't been reduced to rubble once more. It escalated, and the matter of Steve's odd reaction was put away.

Third time was, as they say, the charm. Steve had been giving Jan one of his infamous lectures on proper attire, young women, and the failing morality of the modern age. She'd dared, _dared_ to wear a bikini—a flattering one, true, but Tony preferred them on women less inclined to hate him—on her trip out to the swimming pool, and Steve was busily shoving his foot deep between his jaws. Darling Janet appeared roughly three syllables away from taking a cue from Bruce reducing the entire mansion to rubble, so Tony decided to test his latest hypothesis.

"What's the point of even putting on a bathing suit? You may as well be wearing underwear or nothing at all. What will everything think—"

Innocently, Tony stepped up beside Steve and placed a hand at the small of his back, rubbing a gentle circle.

Steve's lecture faded off mid-sentence, eyes crossing. Jan gave them both a startled, then calculating look. Tony waved at her to make good her escape. She did so, sports towel snapping in her wake, but not without a few backwards glances. The rub continued until she was well out of sight. By then, Steve's eyes had closed. It was debatable whether or not he had even noticed her exit.

He'd had no idea Captain America was so sensitive to physical stimuli. Practically speaking, it was a risky enhancement, unless pain had somehow been isolated from the increased sensation. If it had been, then the uses were innumerable, even outside the bedroom. It certainly explained why Rogers was so stand-offish. A man of his type would never submit to being controlled so easily, and if a simple touch could reduce him to jelly-kneed compliance...

To further test his idea, Tony paused in his massage, going so far as to lift his hand entirely off of Steve's back.

Almost immediately, Steve's head rose from its slight sag and his back tensed again. "What do you think—"

Rub. Silence.

Pause. "Tony, will you—"

Pet. More silence.

_Fascinating._ Tony kept his hand on Steve's back, using it to nudge him forward. Miracle of miracles, it actually worked. A little pressure steered the old soldier as well as a bit in a horse's mouth. The longer the massage went on, the more Steve relaxed, rock-solid muscle becoming soft and pliable under Tony's hand.

Careful not to let him walk into walls, Tony guided Steve down the hall to the gym. There were facilities there for a proper massage, and Tony hadn't stayed at the top by letting opportunities go to waste.


End file.
